On this day in 1981, Terry Fox passed away from his battle with cancer — a month before his 23rd birthday and 10 months after he was forced to end his Marathon of Hope.
The Port Coquitlam hometown hero's determination and courage lives on in many Canadians raising awareness for groundbreaking cancer research from coast to coast to coast.
Today (June 28), the Terry Fox Foundation announced that PoCo will once again be the starting point next month for its Metro Vancouver/Fraser Valley leg of the 2023 Ride of Hope, which has set a fundraising goal of $100,000.
As of this publication, more than half of the money has come in at more than $55,000.
The annual local ride will see more than 30 cyclists, captained by Terry's younger brother Darrell Fox, travel roughly 360 km from Terry Fox Hometown Square in Port Coquitlam to Chilliwack.
Nationally, the Ride of Hope gives hundreds of cyclists the opportunity to follow in Fox's footsteps by pedalling a great distance to collect donations for cancer research.
Terry himself covered 5,373 km from St. John's, N.L., to Thunder Bay, Ont., while raising more than $1.7 million for cancer research.
"Whether a group ride, solo cycling journey, or ambitious biking adventure, the Ride of Hope is organized by volunteers willing to go the distance to make a difference, just like Terry," the foundation explained in a release.
"From the trails of British Columbia to the coasts of Nova Scotia, this year there are 12 unique Rides taking place across Canada."
In 2022, the Metro Vancouver ride raised more than $70,000 for the Terry Fox Foundation thanks to 25 cyclists completing the full journey across the region.
The Ride of Hope began in 2015 with a single journey from Sun Peaks north of Kamloops to Mt. Terry Fox in Valemount.
There's still room on its Metro Vancouver team for interested cyclists to join the 2023 edition, but space is limited.
For more information and registration, or to make a donation, you can visit the Ride of Hope page on the Terry Fox Foundation's website or send an email to [email protected].
